Posted by Gracie on September 6, 2000, at 20:57:36
In reply to Amisulpride- Results of Mini-Survey: It Works!, posted by AndrewB on September 5, 2000, at 12:09:42
Andrew,
What a great job and thank you for sharing this with us. Do you know what the "average" dosage is among the responders, and if they are taking it am or pm?
> I have tracked peoples’ responses to low dose amisulpride on this and another board as well as through email. What follows is a compilation of the feedback from 14 individuals. For those of you who have been willing to share your experiences, thank you for your feedback. This information should help people decide how and if amisulpride may benefit them.
>
> RESULTS:
> Of the 14 people who had tried amisulpride; 7 (50%) had very positive responses, 3 had modestly positive responses, and 4 had no response.
>
> SELECTED COMMENTS FROM POSITIVE RESPONDERS:
> “The amisulpride had been a God-send for my depression. I enjoy improved mood, interest in my activities and general sense of well-being. No suicidal ideation. Actually I feel calm, more energized and alert.....something like NORMAL for the first time in years. Even my friends notice the difference...This seems to work better than any of the ADs I have tried in the past. And it is true about no side effects to speak of.” Robb
>
> “Amisulpride provided amazing social comfort, relaxation and confidence.” JohnL
>
> “My diagnosis is chronic depression and social phobia...I feel much better, self-confident and more empathic.” Michel (on using sulpiride, a close relative of amisulpride)
>
> “I’m on amisulpride and it’s great.” Carolina
>
> “For the time being, I have found amisulpride to be a superior med, for whatever is wrong with me. I take it with Adderall and Adrafinil and am feeling more sane, stable and ‘well’ than I have in a long, long time...Sulpiride helped with my physical symptoms of apathy and heaviness and social anxiety. Amisulpride does that PLUS seems to have a mild antidepressant action that Sulpiride did not.” KarenB
>
> “Positive effects of amisulpride include much better mood, increased energy level and zest for life, increased libido and performance and less negative self talk.” Michael F
>
> COMMENTS FROM MODESTLY POSITIVE RESPONDERS:
> “This time (w/adrafinil) mild anxiolytic effect, not sure if I have any sedation, mild, if any...” Michael
>
> “I think the amisulpride does help somewhat- though not dramatically.” Dwight
>
> “I discontinued amisulpride after about 2 months because I was getting quite irritable, as it is usual for me w/dopamine enhancing meds. I was also gaining weight, but not that much. It did help me with energy and improving my mood.” Anita (also mentions missed menses)
>
> SELECTED COMMENTS FROM NON-RESPONDERS:
> “Diagnosis is probably dysthymia for most of my life with a healthy dose of social phobia mixed in....My experience with amisulpride was that I noticed an increase in sleepiness but this was bearable. Other side effects were minimal. However I noticed no therapeutic effects and I think I gave it about a 3-4 week trial.” Peter S
>
> “My first trial of amisulpride at 50mg and eventually 100mg didn’t have any effect...”, Anthony
>
> “No noticeable positive effect. Possible side effects: insomnia (night/early-morning) waking and daytime tiredness (aside from that resulting from lack of sleep).” S.D.
>
> “Well, I’m afraid I’m going to have to hang up the amisulpride. My tits are killing me (painful swelling, lactation) and I feel no better emotionally, plus it makes me very tired.” Diane (She also had altered menses and constant headaches.)
>
> SIDE EFFECTS: 3 of the 14 who took amisulpride experienced significant side effects. All 3 were women. Their symptoms included missed menses and wieght gain. (BTW, it is reported that bromocriptine can eliminate the raised prolactin level induced side effects these women experienced). One person mentions mild sleepiness as a side effect. One man reports sexual dysfunction if it is combined with adrafinil. One report of strong sleepiness when it is combined with Prozac. Another person says that amisulpride possibly caused insomnia and daytime tiredness.
>
> PROFILE OF THOSE WHO TRIED AMISULPRIDE: These people are for the most part treatment resistant, having tried numerous meds before amisulpride without good or enduring results. In this group low mood, low energy and social anxiety predominate.
>
> SUMMARY: It is only a small group here, so not too much should be made of it. However, the results are very encouraging, Half the group had a strong positive response to amisulpride, quite encouraging considering that this is a treatment resistant group. There were only a few minor side effects in the men. However it is clear that amisulpride can often cause endoncrinological side effects like missed menses in women. It will be very interesting to verify if bromocriptine can take away these side effects.
>
> In my opinion, people should give amisulpride a trial if they have already tried SSRIs without success and they have either long-term depression (dysthymia), atypical depression, or social anxiety. Symptoms that amisulpride may help with include low mood, social anxiety, low energy, lack of motivation, mental confusion, negative self-talk, low self esteem, inability to experience pleasure, apathy, lack of emotion or lack of emotional connectedness.
>
> It is uncertain if amisulpride works when combined with MAOIs or SSRIs.
>
> I hope this pool of responses is just the beginning of a learning process. Our pooled knowledge helps so much in understanding who can be helped with this promising medicine. We need others to continue sharing their experiences on this board or via email to me (andrewb@seanet.com). To learn more about amisulpride, email me for an information piece.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> AndrewB
poster:Gracie
thread:44397
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000905/msgs/44421.html